I am done with this thread.  It has received nothing but close-minded hostility.  Which is fine.  I understand.  That's the way the world works.  I've seen this kind of thing happen in many domains, not just programming.

If I had the power to delete this entire thread, I would.  I actually regret daring to suggest there might be a different way to do things, not to change the entire language, but rather to solve the problem cleanly and elegantly with the introduction of a single symbol rather than piling on stuff.  I love Python and will continue to use it, including the walrus operator.  Life goes on.

Admin:  If you have a way to just delete this entire thread, please do so.  It was a waste of time for all involved.

Thank you,

-Martin